Opening Day of ECCC Case 002 Trial Proceedings: Day 1 of Prosecution’s Opening Statement
On November 21, 2011, the Trial Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) began the long-awaited trial portion of the Court’s premier second case (Case 002). In this case, the three remaining accused,2 Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary and Khieu Samphan, are the most senior former Khmer Rouge leaders still alive.
The Court grounds were abuzz with anticipation leading up to the opening of the initial trial hearing, reserved for the Prosecution’s opening statement. When the morning session finally began, the courtroom audience gallery was packed with civil parties, Buddhist monks, international news media personnel, students, embassy officials and various Cambodian civil society representatives.
The historic proceedings got off to a shaky start, with the Civil Party Co-Lead Lawyer’s microphone system malfunctioning during discussion of some preliminary administrative matters. For several minutes court technicians attempted to resolve the issue, but eventually the Trial Chamber simply moved on without the procedural step of the Civil Party Co-Lead Lawyer formally requesting recognition of his international colleagues. The audience was clearly impatient with the delays and the coincidence that technical problems specifically plagued the microphones of the Civil Party Lawyers invited metaphorical comparisons to the muting of the Civil Parties as a collective voice that many victim rights advocates allege has taken place at the Court.
After the brief technical delay, the Trial Chamber recounted the topics to be covered in the initial3 Case 002 trial, including:
- The Historical Background of the Khmer Rouge;
- The Structure of the Democratic Kampuchea (DK)4 Government;
- The Role of Each Accused in the DK Government;
- Policies of the DK Government;
- Factual Allegations Against the Accused Related to Phases I and II of the Forced
Population Movements in DK; and
- The Specific Crimes against Humanity of Murder, Extermination, Persecution, Forced
- Transfer and Enforced Disappearances.
The Chamber also noted that it has reserved the right to address “other subjects,” if it deems such explorations necessary, but did not elaborate on what factors the judges will take into account when considering whether to exercise this power. This continues to leave the precise scope of the first Case 002 trial unknown and leaves both parties before the Court and observers without any guidance moving forward into the trial…
Read more: ctm_blog_11-21-2011